Oh, I don't think there is any doubt as to the desired primary outcome. It is, quite rightly, for the chap to get his PhD after showing his ability to conduct independent research with interesting conclusions, and, one assumes, publish it (as well as submit his thesis, of course). Which is absolutely fine. The museum is supporting academic research and education, as it should anyway. But it also gets potentially valuable data.

In general, such laser scans are extremely useful in the heritage world. They are good to have as a record of the physical condition and dimensions of the object, for management purposes. But they are also great for analysis and public interpretation, especially when there are problems of public access, or it's hard to see phenomena with the naked eye, etc. It's not so much 'because we can' as 'it depends what you can think of to do with them'.

Here's an example not a million miles from here where seashore caves are hard to see and also vulnerable to vandals, erosion, etc. - www.4dwemysscaves.org/about.html